MapConnect: Free Topographic Data of Australia

Developed by Geoscience Australia, the MapConnect application provides access to topographic data for the entire country of Australia. Currently, the only data set available is GEODATA TOPO 250K Series 3 data. The underlying spatial database is constantly maintained, ensuring that users always access the most recent data. Additional national data sets at other scales will be added.

MapConnect lets any user, personal or professional, download and print maps in a standard web browser without needing any additional software. Users can customize their maps by turning on and off specific feature layers; this option broadens the range of people and purposes that benefit from the data.

The easy-to-use tools allow the user to specify an area of interest by either entering a place name or specifying the appropriate map sheet name. The application then zooms to the area of interest. The next step is to specify-using a polygon definition encoded in either a Shapefile or OGC GML schema-the extent of the area to be mapped. Finally ,the user specifies the preferred download format. Several format choices are available:

• Image formats - ideal for use with GPS navigation systems in vehicle-mounted or handheld devices
• GIS formats - attributes and symbology (pGDB, ShapeFile, and Mid/Miff formats as an OGC GML encoding) that are useful for input into software packages as well as analysis and advanced map production. Data can be selected by theme or as a single file before being compressed for download.
• Screen based images - can be simply printed from the map window for use by the general public
• PDF maps - high quality cartographic maps, including legends and scales that can be used by emergency managers or field crew, or incorporated into publications and reports. These maps are in a vector format that allows them to be printed at high resolution or enlarged without loss of quality. Initially these will only be available to emergency management and government agencies.

MapConnect is free. Users must register with the Office of Spatial Data Management on the MapConnect site and accept the terms of use.

MapConnect also provides access to the data via a Web Map Service using the OGC WMS standard 1.1.1. MapConnect uses ArcIMS to access an Enterprise Geodatabase managed by ArcSDE.

The following is a sample request map string for MapConnect:

http://mapconnect.ga.gov.au/wmsconnector/com.esri.wms.Esrimap?BBOX=112.2,-45.7,155.5,-7.4
&WIDTH=400&HEIGHT=300&SRS=EPSG:4326&Layers=LandsatMosaic,CartographicLines,FrameworkBoundaries,Cities,
&version=1.1.1&service=WMS&FORMAT=JPEG&TRANSPARENT=TRUE
&request=getmap&ServiceName=GDA94_MapConnect_SDE_250kmap_WMS  

MapConnect WMS return image

The sample request returns the image shown here, exactly as requested: 400 pixels wide by 300 pixels high, covering the area from 112.2° East to 155.5° East and from 7.4° South to 45.7° South, showing Landsat data of mainland Australia and Tasmania, with coastal (cartographic) lines, state (framework) boundaries and major cities.

Future developments will include the ability to download only that data which has been updated during a specified time frame. This capability will apply only to the GIS formats, and will reduce the amount of time needed for data transfers after the initial download.